BBC - Manchester - History - The Munich air disaster: a timeline You are in: Manchester > History > History features > The Munich air disaster: a timeline Manchester United in 1957 The Munich air disaster: a timeline The timeline looks at some of the key moments in the story of the Munich air disaster, how the tragedy unfolded on the day and what happened in the aftermath. Tuesday 22 October 1957 The Busby Babes' 4-0 Charity Shield drubbing of Aston Villa, coupled with the fact that they’d recorded their largest ever goal and points tallies the season before, leads to speculation that the team can win an unprecedented league, FA Cup and European Cup treble. Duncan Edwards and Yugoslav journalists (04/02/58) Wednesday 4 December United face Dukla Prague away in the European Cup - they lose the tie, but win on aggregate. Delays in their return journey mean they nearly miss their clash with Everton the following Saturday. The problems lead to a decision to charter a plane for the next away tie, versus Red Star Belgrade.

Tuesday 14 January 1958 United beat Red Star Belgrade 2-1 at Old Trafford in the home leg of their second round tie. Help playing audio/video Monday 3 February The Manchester United party board the flight from Manchester to Belgrade. The route is arranged via Munich both ways for refuelling, as a direct route is out of range for the aeroplane. The team line-up for the game (05/02/58) A few hours later, they arrive to find low cloud, poor visibility and snow. Conditions are at the minimum allowed by British European Airways (their flight operator) for pilots to land in. Indeed, the weather is so bad that the airport engineer only realises the plane has landed when it taxis on to the parking apron. Wednesday 5 February United draw 3-3 with Red Star Belgrade and go through to the European Cup Semi Finals for the second year running. After the game, a cocktail party for the players is held at the British Embassy.

The wreckage of the crash (07/02/58) Thursday 6 February The travelling party, plus an extra five people - including the wife and baby daughter of the Yugoslav air attaché in London – departs Belgrade in sunshine for Manchester. The takeoff is delayed for an hour as winger Johnny Berry loses his passport. A little later, the plane makes its scheduled stop in Munich to refuel, where the airport is shrouded in low cloud, rain and snow. The descent into Munich requires the pilot, Captain James Thain, to use the anti-icing equipment on the wings. On the ground, the Manchester party disembark for refreshments in the terminal building, with some of the players taking the opportunity to snowball the refuelling team. Help playing audio/video After completion of departure details, the party return to the aircraft, with the crew stopping to inspect the wings. As a precaution, de-icing fluid could be sprayed onto the wings or snow brushed clear, but they decide that is unnecessary under the circumstances. The wreckage of the crash (07/02/58) At 2.20pm GMT, just over an hour after arrival, the plane is cleared for take-off.

However, an uneven tone in the engines alarms Captain Thain and his co-pilot, Captain Kenneth Rayment, causing them to abort the take-off. The pair decide to try again, but the second take-off is aborted for the same reason, described by Captain Thain to his passengers as a "slight engine fault" which would require them to return to the apron for an engine check. Everybody disembarks again, and on returning to the departure lounge, United’s star player Duncan Edwards sends a telegram to his landlady - "All flights cancelled. Flying home tomorrow. Duncan." Unexpectedly, the call to board the flight is made and the party re-embark. Albert Scanlon in hospital (09/02/58) At 3.04pm, a third take-off is attempted. The plane fails to gain height and crashes into the fence surrounding the airport and then into a house. The port wing and part of the tail is torn off and the house catches fire. A tree shatters the port side of the cockpit, while the starboard side of the fuselage hits a wooden hut, causing a truck filled with tyres and fuel parked inside to explode.

Help playing audio/video By the time any emergency services arrive at the site, 21 people are dead - including seven players, eight journalists, the travel agent who had organised the trip and a fan that was travelling with the team. After two hours, the search for survivors is called off, only for a German journalist to discover Kenny Morgans amongst the wreckage some five hours after the crash. Help playing audio/video The survivors are taken to Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich. Amongst them are Albert Scanlon, who will remain unconscious for three weeks, star striker Bobby Charlton, who has suffered slight head injuries, and Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower, whose injuries will mean they would never play again. Matt Busby in hospital after the crash Manager Matt Busby has suffered fractured ribs, a punctured lung and leg injuries. His condition is so grave that the last rites are administered and a hospital statement says simply that "we do not have much hope of saving him". Friday 7 February onwards The bodies of the deceased are flown home and lie overnight in the gym at Old Trafford before being collected by the families.

Thousands turn out to line the streets for the funerals, memorial services are held all over the country and two minutes' silence is observed at matches everywhere. United take on Sheffield Wednesday (19/02/58) There is speculation that the club will fold as they may not be able to complete the season’s fixtures or rebuild their shattered team. Wednesday 19 February There is news that Matt Busby has received the last rites for a second time, while Duncan Edwards and the co-pilot Kenneth Rayment are both worsening by the day. Despite that, a makeshift United 11 takes on Sheffield Wednesday in an emotional FA Cup fifth-round tie. The front cover of the match programme reads "United will go on" and on the team sheet, there are 11 blank spaces to fill in. Busby calls his assistant Jimmy Murphy from his hospital bed to tell him to "keep the flag flying". United win 3-0. Duncan Edwards' is flown home (22/02/58) Friday 21 February Duncan Edwards dies from his injuries. A week later, Ken Rayment also succumbs, bringing the final death toll to 23.

Thankfully, Matt Busby stabilises and as his condition improves, he is sent to Interlaken in Switzerland to recuperate with his wife, Jean. Saturday 8 March A message from the stricken manager is played ahead of United’s home game. The News of the World reports that "women wept as the tape-recorded voice of Matt Busby echoed across a packed and silent Old Trafford". Bobby Charlton at the FA Cup Final (03/05/58) Friday 18 April Matt Busby returns to Manchester for the first time, 71 days after the crash. He makes the journey from Switzerland by rail and sea. Saturday 3 May Despite the devastation of the season, under the leadership of Jimmy Murphy, United have made it to the FA Cup Final, where they play Bolton Wanderers. It is Murphy that leads the team out, while Matt Busby makes his way slowly to the bench with the aid of a walking stick. The team wear shirts emblazoned with a phoenix rising from the flames. Despite a valiant effort, the game is a step too far for the still recovering side and they lose 2-0.

United v AC Milan in the European Cup (08/05/58) Thursday 8 May United beat AC Milan in the home leg of their European Cup Semi Final 2-1. Wednesday 14 May AC Milan beat United 4-0 at the San Siro Stadium to knock them out of the European Cup. The Munich air disaster and How the Daily Express reported it 56 years ago | History | News | Daily Express 14:45, Mon, Oct 6, 2014 The Munich air disaster took 23 lives[REX/NC] Snow was falling heavily on the runway at Munich, where the Airspeed Ambassador had stopped to refuel, en route to Manchester on February 6, 1958. It looked certain that the flight would be delayed until the next day but, fatefully, the crew decided to have one final attempt. On board there was a growing sense of foreboding among the players of Manchester United, and journalists travelling with the team. This time the plane laboured along the strip but as it reached the point of no return began to lose speed in the slush.

Co-pilot Kenneth Rayment shouted: "Christ, we're not going to make it", before the aircraft ploughed through a perimeter fence, struck a house and broke up. Of the 44 on board, 23 were to die in the crash or later in hospital. Among them were some of the most talented players in British football. On a front page with the headline "Three Take-off Attempts - And then Disaster" the Daily Express carried dramatic accounts from survivors of how they escaped the burning wreckage. An iconic photograph shows snow still falling on the remains of the BEA flight. TO READ THE FULL FRONT PAGE RIGHT NOW... JUST CLICK HERE Munich air disaster: How the Daily Express reported it 56 years ago [EXPRESS] Bobby Charlton did survive with only minor injuries and went on to star in England's victorious World Cup team in 1966 Full-back Bill Foulkes was hailed as one of the heroes. The last man out alive, he stayed on board to pull the baby of a passenger from the debris.

He described how he heard United manager Matt Busby crying out in pain from the wreckage: "It's my legs, it's my legs." The doctor treating the manager said: "In Mr Busby's case every minute we keep him alive is precious." Despite terrible injuries and twice receiving the last rites, Busby lived to lead the team that would win the European Cup 10 years later. Also on the front page were two lists; one of the known dead, the other of the survivors. Poignantly among the latter was the name of Duncan Edwards, a brilliant 21-year-old England international. He succumbed to his injuries two weeks later, having asked after the crash: "What time is the kick off against Wolves? I mustn't miss that match." Bobby Charlton did survive with only minor injuries and went on to star in England's victorious World Cup team in 1966. In all, eight players who were all in their 20s were among the victims along with three club officials and the co-pilot. Eight sports journalists also lost their lives, including Henry Rose, 58, of the Daily Express, who was described by the editor as a "fearless writer".

Emergency crews search the wreckage of the Munich air disaster [REX] Two of the survivors, Jackie Blanchflower and Johnny Berry, were so badly injured that they never played again. Back home, as the nation digested the news the day after the crash there was a sense of disbelief. The young United team was one of the most talented ever assembled and expected to dominate European football for many years to come. Thousands turned out to line the streets for the funerals and silence was observed at fixtures everywhere. The cover of the first match day programme after the crash stated: "United will go on." Remarkably, with a team built mainly from reserve and youth team players, United reached the FA Cup Final that season, losing to Bolton Wanderers. The crest on the players' shirts showed a phoenix rising from the flames. An investigation into the crash concluded that the build-up of melting snow on the runway was the cause. In one corner of the team's Old Trafford stadium a clock now commemorates the disaster - with the single word beneath it: "Munich." Matt Busby recovers in hospital [GETTY] WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN 1958? January 1: A group of six nations form the European Economic Community or Common Market.

It is meant to give more collective trading strength and break down trade barriers. The original members are France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Britain initially declines to get involved but applies to become a member a few years later. President de Gaulle of France twice vetoes the move and we are not admitted until 1973. September 1: The first Cod War begins between Britain and Iceland. An attempt by Iceland to extend a fishing boundary off its coast, from four miles to 12 miles, is resisted. Britain announces that its trawlers will continue to operate within the new zone, under the protection of Royal Navy warships.There are a series of collisions and warning shots are fired before the dispute is resolved in November. However, it is only the first in a series of rows between the two nations. October 16: Blue Peter, the world's longest running children's programme, is first broadcast. The two presenters are Christopher Trace, who'd been a stand-in actor for Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur, and former Miss Great Britain Leila Williams. He is seen playing with trains while she sticks to dolls.

Blue Peter was initially shown every Friday, lasting just 15 minutes and entirely studio based. At its peak the show attracted eight million viewers. December 5: The first section of motorway opens in Britain, covering just over eight miles. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan performs the ceremony for the launch of the Preston bypass, now part of the M6. It has two lanes in each direction and there's no central barrier. Despite being almost deserted, a month later it's closed for repairs and motorists are forced to use the old stretch of road. The M6, running from Rugby to Gretna, eventually becomes the UK's busiest and longest motorway. Related articles Munich air disaster 50th anniversary: 'I woke up in hospital. I thought the other boys must be in another room' | The Independent News & Comment Munich air disaster 50th anniversary: 'I woke up in hospital. I thought the other boys must be in another room' Caught under the plane's wheels and last to be pulled from the wreckage, Kenny Morgans is the great Munich survivor.

By Steve Tongue Sunday 3 February 2008 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Even half a century ago, newspaper placards trumpeting supposedly dramatic events tended to be treated with a certain cynicism. Driving home to Kent on 6 February 1958, the author and football fan H E Bates, a former reporter, caught sight of one reading "Manchester United In Air Crash" and did not bother stopping the car. His reaction, he later wrote, was: "I am getting too old to be caught by newspaper screamers." Arriving home, he switched on the six o'clock television news, whereupon: "I sat listening with a frozen brain to that cruel and shocking list of casualties." Some 200 miles north, Matt Busby's son Sandy, a reserve- team player with Blackburn Rovers, was hurrying home to celebrate his 22nd birthday when a friend drew his attention to Manchester's version of the placards: "United In Plane Crash." "I just walked on," he recalled last week. "I was thinking, 'Are the headlines just built up?' And then I thought I'd better phone home.

An aunt of mine was down from Scotland, she answered and she was frantic. She said, 'Sandy, get home'." With hard news coming out of Munich only in dribs and drabs, the Busby household was a natural gathering point for friends and relatives. "The girlfriend of [Daily Express journalist] Henry Rose was round and when the news came through about Henry, someone had to take her home because she was in a right state," Busby Jnr said. "Then Frank Swift's wife came in with her daughter. They lived just round the corner and they weren't getting any information either. Then it did come through, that the great Frank had died." The birthday party was becoming a wake. Worst of all for the Busbys, there was no news of United's manager. "It started coming through that this player had died, that player had died. My mother was just sitting there looking into the fireplace, she went into a sort of coma. "I went upstairs and was sat on the bed saying a prayer when all of a sudden my uncle rushed in saying, 'Sandy, he's alive, he's alive!', and my mum came out of her coma just like that.

She got my sister and I to go out and start visiting other houses, some of the players, to see their families were OK." Some were, some were not. The following day, Sandy Busby and his mother flew to Munich with relatives of a number of the survivors as well as Jimmy Murphy, the assistant manager who should have been on the plane but went instead to Cardiff in his role as part-time manager of Wales for a decisive World Cup tie against Israel. Kenny Morgans, an exciting winger born in Swansea, might have been involved in that game too had he been older than 18. Or, had he been a little less talented, he would never have displaced Johnny Berry, an England international, at outside-right for United. Morgans did so earlier in the season and was therefore in the side that thrillingly beat Arsenal 5-4 at Highbury on the Saturday and was then unchanged for the away trip to Red Star Belgrade four days later (no rotation and no substitutes in 1958). The team were in good humour after a 3-3 draw in Yugoslavia which put them in a European Cup semi-final for the second successive year.

Only after the stopover to refuel in Munich and two aborted take-offs did the mood darken. Morgans, now 68, speaks about that day in a matter-of-fact tone that on reflection is perhaps the only way the survivors can bear to do so: "Do you want me to talk about the crash? The weather was terrible. It was snowing, windy, icy on the floor. Looking through the window of the cafe, we saw them clear the ice off the wings three times. [Before] the third take-off attempt, a lot of players swapped seats and went to the back. What we were told after was you had the toilets at the back so it was stronger at the back of the plane than in the middle. "The third time we tried to take off, I was sat by the window, we were really going fast. I remember hitting a fence at the end of the runway and that was the end of it, I couldn't remember any more. I lost consciousness. What must have happened I was told later is that I was pushed underneath to the back of the plane.

I was caught underneath the wheel." Although Harry Gregg, the United goalkeeper, heroically ignored an instruction from the aeroplane's captain – "Run, you silly bugger, she's going to blow" – and dragged at least three people from the wreckage, Morgans was not found for almost five hours: "At about half-past eight, two German reporters went back to the burning plane. They found me, I was last to come out. They got me back to the hospital and I didn't wake up till the Sunday morning, three days later." After the physical pain came the emotional blows, one after another. "I can remember waking up and there was Bobby Charlton, Albert Scanlon, Ray Wood and myself. I thought the other boys must be in another room. The professor of the hospital came and sat by me, and everybody was quiet. And he told me the players that had died, and the players who were very sick upstairs. There was the boss, and there was Duncan Edwards and Johnny Berry. They weren't very good." That is one of many understatements: Busby, who was in an oxygen tent, had the last rites administered twice but eventually pulled through.

Berry suffered dreadful injuries and was in a coma for two months, unableto return to Manchester until May. Edwards fought on for 15 days but died on 21 February. "I couldn't believe it," Morgans says. "When the professor told you that you were alive and the players that died, you did think, 'Why should I still be here?'. You just thought you were awful lucky to be alive." The Busby family felt the same about Matt, though they were shocked by his immediate reaction in hospital. Sandy Busby revealed: "When he did become conscious, my dad said to my mother, 'I'm finished with football' because of all these young boys [who died]. My mother said, 'These lads would want you to go on and achieve something and their name will be there alongside the team which does.' My mother had a great influence on my dad." It was still the following season before Busby had any significant contact with the largely new team. On his own admission, frail and on crutches, he should not have attended the FA Cup final in May, which United lost to a physically formidable Bolton Wanderers after being propelled to Wembley on a tide of national goodwill.

For all the efforts of Jimmy Murphy – whose son feels he was never given sufficient credit – it would be five years before the club won another trophy, the 1963 FA Cup, and five more until some sort of closure for Busby, Charlton and another survivor, Bill Foulkes, when the European Cup was finally won, fittingly at Wembley. How much more might the Babes have won? As Busby Jnr points out: "When you think about it, it was a full team [lost]. Jackie Blanchflower and JohnnyBerry never played again. Kenny Morgans will tell you himself, he wasn't the same player. And then the eight who died, it was a full team." Morgans adds: "I'm not being funny but it must have been the best team in the world. Duncan was 20 but he had already played five years for United and four for England. He had another 10 years to go, what a player he would have been.

Eddie Colman and Mark Jones, only 23, they had another 10 years of football, and Tommy Taylor..." Charlton is convinced Unitedwould have gone on to win the European Cup in 1958 (a patchwork team lost to Milan in the semi-final) and that England, with Edwards, Roger Byrne, Taylor and perhaps Colman, could have won the World Cup that year in Sweden. Instead, English football had to wait another decade for those triumphs. It was hardly surprising that Charlton should have shed tears on both occasions when they did. "I remember Bobby after the [European Cup] final, he was absolutely drained," Sandy Busby says, "and I'm sure Munich was the reason he felt so much emotion. There's a picture of dad and Bobby in which Bobby's in tears and the both of them are together looking as if to say, 'That was for those lads'." Fight for survival: Families insist more should have been done to help financially The feeling remains among some Munich survivors and their families that more should have been done much sooner to provide financial assistance.

No testimonial match was agreed until 1997, and then it was at the instigation of half-a-dozen surviving players, who had been invited to the European Cup final in Munich by Uefa. One of them, Albert Scanlon, who played outside-left in the Busby Babes' last game in Belgrade, says: "We did it one night, sat in our hotel. It didn't come from the club, it came from the ex-players. Ray Wood rang round all over the place." United controversially decided to combine the occasion with a farewell to Eric Cantona, which Harry Gregg called "a disgrace", but which others felt maximised the attendance when the game was played in August 1998, six months after the 40th anniversary. "Would they have rather Cantona hadn't played and we had [only] 30,000 people there?" asked one organiser. Gordon Taylor, of the Professional Footballers' Association, was given the task of dividing the £1 million receipts, which amounted after expenses to about £47,000 for each dependent.

Scanlon said: "It paid some of my bills, we went on holiday with the kids and [did] some alterations to the house. I still went to work as a security guard in Salford Docks." Like fellow survivors Kenny Morgans and Dennis Viollet, Scanlon never rediscovered his real form after the crash. Ray Wood died in 2002, Jackie Blanchflower a month after the testimonial. As Blanchflower's son Andrew said: "The legacy of Munich got them all in the end." Source: 'The Lost Babes', by Jeff Connor (HarperSport) More about: Munich Air Disaster: How the tragic crash changed the course of footballing history - Mirror Online Munich Air Disaster: How the tragic crash changed the course of footballing history Oliver Holt on the sublime talents lost in one of English football's most tragic moments Share 55 years on: Today marks the anniversary of the Munich Air Crash (Photo: Getty) Share Get Manchester United FC updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email The Daily Mirror's Chief Sports Writer Oliver Holt first wrote this piece in 2008, 50 years after the crash, which we have republished for the 55th anniversary. Imagine Bobby Moore never lifted the World Cup on that glorious day in 1966. The little details about how the England captain wiped his hands on his way up to the Royal Box because he didn't want to make the Queen's white gloves muddy? Imagine they never happened. Imagine Stanley Matthews hadn't been around to transform the 1953 FA Cup Final. Imagine no George Best. Or no Denis Law. No Colin Bell. Imagine there had never been the great Everton triumvirate of Ball, Harvey and Kendall. Imagine Charlie George had never scored that goal in the 1971 Cup Final and laid down on his back on the Wembley turf. Imagine no Kevin Keegan at Anfield in the 70s. Imagine if Liverpool had never won the European Cup in Rome in 1977. Imagine Kenny Dalglish had never played south of the border. And then maybe you begin to understand.

Then maybe you begin to realise what happened when that plane crashed at Munich on its final doomed attempt at take-off on February 6, 1958. Slowed by slush on the runway to the point where it did not have enough speed to get off the ground, the Elizabethan smashed through the perimeter fence, slammed into a house and careered on for another 100 yards, spinning round until it came to a halt. And in those terrifying, terrible moments, a great slice of English football history was lost to us for ever. What might have been: The Busby Babes celebrate their 1956-1957 title, but what could they have gone on to achieve? (Photo: Getty) What they might have been. What they might have done. It's the torment that tortures the families and friends of any young man or woman taken before their time. And in the case of the Busby Babes, the wondering and the dreaming has been done by a nation of football lovers for half a century. A team was wiped out when it stood on the verge of greatness. Obliterated as it was about to do things no other English team had done before.

If eight of the Busby Babes had not lost their lives as a result of that crash, we would have had a different history, a different set of football icons. Matt Busby's young team was going for a third successive league title after winning it in 1956 and 1957. That would have given them a special place in history. Who knows whether they might have won four, even five, on the trot. They were pioneering English involvement in the European Cup, too. They were on their way back from completing an aggregate victory over Red Star Belgrade when they stopped to refuel in Munich. Nothing is certain but they may have become the first British side to win the competition, long before Celtic managed it in 1967. They might have built a dynasty at Old Trafford that outshone that established at Real Madrid. What has tantalised football historians more than anything is the loss of Duncan Edwards, the great colossus of Old Trafford.

Signing: Duncan Edwards pens his first professional deal in 1957, he would die a year later aged 21 (Photo: Daily Mirror) Edwards was 21 when he died, fighting on for 15 days after the crash despite severe internal injuries that gave him no right to survive for that long. By then, the United number six had already won 18 caps for England at a time when there were far fewer international matches than there are now. If he had survived, he would have been 29 in the summer of 1966. The chances are he would have been part of Alf Ramsey's team that beat Germany. Chances are, it would have been him lifting the World Cup. Not Moore. Chances are there would have been five players in the England 100-club David Beckham is striving to join. Add Edwards to Peter Shilton, Moore, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright. Chances are, too, that Ryan Giggs would be chasing a Manchester United appearance record a little further away from his grasp than Charlton's is now. Edwards had already played 177 times for United when he was killed.

Charlton said Edwards was the only player who ever made him feel inferior. "Compared to him," Charlton said, "the rest of us were like pygmies." And so all we can do is wonder what Edwards might have achieved and preserve him and Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan in our minds as men who might have conquered the world. They still left an enduring legacy to United, of course. Not just in what they had already achieved before their deaths. But in the mystery and tragic romance they lent the club from February 6 onwards. The Munich air crash made the Busby Babes into a team of James Deans, forever young in our memories, forever puffing out their chests in pride. Not withered by age or hobbled by the kind of humdrum injury that could end a career half a century ago. And because of that, because Busby fought his way back to health after being read the last rites and helped his team to rise again, United have a claim to be the most famous club in the world.

It was Munich and the club's resurrection after it, the emotion of the renewed pursuit of the European Cup culminating in that triumph against Benfica at Wembley in 1968, that gave the club its mystique. In a way, it was Munich that gave George Best his platform, Munich that allowed him to take the grand stage as the heir of the Babes, the man who finally allowed Busby to achieve the dream his team had died chasing. That was what turned United into the self-styled "biggest club in the world". That was what made them the Beatles of world football. That was what spawned the commercial power they have now. That's why they have a bigger, wider fanbase than any other English club. Manchester United and English football were robbed of part of their histories when that plane crashed at Munich 50 years ago. But the legend of the Busby Babes, the dream of what they might have become and the memory of their youth and their promise lives on and on.

Like us on Facebook BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1958: United players killed in air disaster 1958: United players killed in air disaster Seven Manchester United footballers are among 21 dead after an air crash in Munich. The British European Airways (BEA) plane caught fire shortly after take off this afternoon with 38 passengers and six crew on board. The footballing world is reeling from the loss of some of its most talented young players - known as the Busby Babes. Their average age was 24 and they included Roger Byrne - the captain - Mark Jones, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Liam Whelan, David Pegg and Geoff Bent. Queen 'deeply shocked' Eight British sports journalists and several club officials have also been killed. The Queen has said she is "deeply shocked" and has sent a message of condolence to the Lord Mayor of Manchester and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation. The chartered aircraft was bringing the Manchester United entourage back from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia and had stopped at Munich's Riem Airport to refuel.

On the third attempt to take off the plane over-shot the runway, hit a house with its port wing, veered to the right, hit another building and burst into flames. The fuselage did not catch fire and several crew and passengers went back into the wreckage to rescue the injured. Team manager Matt Busby was described as being the most seriously hurt and is being given blood transfusions in hospital. Star striker Bobby Charlton has been treated for slight head injuries. According to the Chief Executive of BEA, A. H. Milward, there was a heavy snowstorm in Munich and the pilot delayed departure because he was dissatisfied with one of the plane's engines. This was the first fatal accident for this type of BEA aeroplane, which has carried 2,340,000 passengers on 86,000 flights since it began service in 1952. The same plane - called Lord Burghley - took the Manchester United entourage out to Belgrade on Monday.

How Real Madrid helped rebuild Manchester United after the Munich air disaster | The Independent How Real Madrid helped rebuild Manchester United after the Munich air disaster The Madrid president raised funds and staged friendlies in 1958 out of respect for Matt Busby Tuesday 12 February 2013 23:00 BST Click to follow How Real Madrid helped to rebuild Manchester United after Munich air disaster 1/2 Matt Busby with Bobby Charlton shortly after the crash in 1958 Getty Images Matt Busby with Bobby Charlton shortly after the crash in 1958 Getty Images Matt Busby with Bobby Charlton shortly after the crash in 1958 They are supposed to be the best of enemies: the socialists revered by the Stretford End and the club who were supported by Franco and have raided Manchester United’s academy. Who can forget the hatred in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson just five years ago when he said, as Real Madrid pursued Cristiano Ronaldo, they were a “mob” to whom he would not sell “a virus”. But relations between the clubs, which have thawed a little since Jose Mourinho’s arrival in Spain, have a much happier history.

Not least in the famous friendship between Santiago Bernabeu, the old Madrid president, whose name was given to the ground United will play in, and Sir Matt Busby 50 years ago. The story of it is revealed in John Ludden’s book A Tale of Two Cities: Manchester and Madrid 1957-1968 and Ludden told The Independent he was surprised there is some modern animosity between the clubs. “When you look back on the history and you see what Real Madrid did for United after Munich.” he said, “It’s incredible.” This warmth between Bernabeu and Busby grew out of mutual respect for each other’s teams, and led to some remarkable displays of generosity and charity when United were at their lowest. It grew out of the European Cup semi-final of April 1957, which Madrid won 5-3 on aggregate but were held to a stirring 2-2 draw in the second leg at Old Trafford. Bernabeu was so impressed by the spirit and quality of United’s young side that he offered Busby a job. The Scot, though, was desperate to win in Europe with United, and said no. Ten months later, United’s young team was devastated by tragedy.

An air crash in Munich, 55 years ago last week, killed eight players, three staff and 10 others. They had just won a European Cup quarter-final. The dream of Busby’s side conquering Europe looked over. United lost their semi-final to Milan three months after the crash but Milan were beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid in the final. Bernabeu, dedicated the win to his fallen friends from Manchester and even offered United the trophy, though it was turned down. If that offer was purely symbolic there were material pledges too, most significantly the offer to loan United the world’s finest footballer, Alfredo di Stefano, “the Blond Arrow”, for the 1958-59 season. “Bernabeu went to see Di Stefano about this,” Ludden said. “He was willing to go until the end of the season, United paying half his wages and Madrid the other half. But the Football Association blocked it as he would be taking the place of a potential British player.” So Madrid helped in different ways. They made a memorial pennant with the names of the Munich dead, called “Champions of Honour”, which was sold in Spain to raise money for United.

There were offers to the injured and bereaved to recuperate at Madrid’s luxurious facilities in Spain at no cost. There was also a series of fund-raising friendlies between the two teams. As well as the human and sporting cost, the Munich disaster had hit United’s finances. Real Madrid usually charged £12,000 for such games, but Bernabeu told United “pay what you can afford”. These games were not just fund-raisers, though. “United could not even dream of Europe, it was more a case of staying up [in the First Division],” said Ludden. “So Busby’s idea was to keep the idea of Europe alive for the fans and players. It gave the players a level – of Ferenc Puskas and Di Stefano – they had to get to if United were to get back in Europe.” In October 1959 Madrid won the first friendly 6-1 in front of 63,000 at Old Trafford, with Di Stefano, Puskas and Francisco Gento outstanding. Madrid won the re-match the following month 6-5, a remarkable game watched by 80,000 entranced fans, who applauded both teams off.

That evening Madrid organised a fund-raising banquet for the bereaved families of Munich in which Bernabeu said Busby was “not only the bravest, but the greatest man I have ever met in football”. For the next friendly, in October 1960, Puskas and Di Stefano were injury doubts. Bernabeu asked Busby if he wanted to postpone the game but United’s manager insisted, saying that Madrid “had become like family”. Puskas and Di Stefano were so impressed they played anyway and helped produce another classic, which Madrid won 3-2. United were getting closer and in the next friendly in December 1961 they beat Madrid 3-1, and the following September won 2-0 in the Bernabeu. United won the FA Cup that season, the first trophy after Munich, and the title followed before the European Cup in 1968, United overcoming Madrid in the semi-finals on their way to the prize Busby had driven his rebuilt team towards for 10 years. “If it had to be anyone, then I am glad it was them,” said a gracious Bernabeu afterwards. He had played his own part in their resurrection.

More about: The Munich Air Crash | History Today The Munich Air Crash Sport On February 6th, 1958, the BEA aircraft carrying the players and staff of Manchester United football team crashed shortly after taking off at Munich airport. Richard Cavendish describes the accident. Under their inspiring Scottish manager Matt Busby after the War, Manchester United became one of the most brilliant and exciting football teams in England. They won the FA Cup in 1948 and in 1957 the young 'Busby babes' were the first English Club to enter the European Cup. The following year, on the way back from Yugoslavia and a 3-3 draw with Red Star Belgrade, Busby and his players and staff boarded a BEA aircraft at Munich airport in a driving snowstorm. There was snow and ice on the runways and the plane taxied out to take off, but returned. The same thing happened a second time. Apparently the pilot was not getting enough power from the engines, but he was determined to go ahead with the flight and at the third attempt the aircraft rose a few feet off the ground and ran into a wooden fence. The port wing hit a building and the plane caught fire.

Peter Howard, a photographer on board for the Daily Mail, said that the aircraft suddenly seemed to break up. Seats started to crumble up and everything seemed to be falling to bits. ‘It was a rolling sensation and all sorts of stuff started coming down on top of us. There was not time to think. No one cried out. No one spoke; just a deadly silence for what could only have been seconds.’ Of forty-four on board, twenty-one were killed. They included seven United players and three officials – the team’s coach, trainer and secretary – as well as seven sports journalists. Matt Busby, who was badly hurt, and Bobby Charlton, a future England international, were among those taken to hospital. Charlton had come round to find himself outside the plane, but still strapped into his seat. The news caused consternation in Manchester, where all sales of tickets for future matches were suspended and crowds gathered at United’s ground at Old Trafford to get the latest information. Messages of condolence arrived from all over the world, including one from President Tito. At a concert in Sheffield, the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester played Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ as a memorial tribute.

The audience of a thousand people stood throughout and there was then a minute’s silence. United were determined to survive the disaster and ten years later they became the first English team to win the European Cup. Matt Busby, who had been given the freedom of Manchester the year before, was knighted in 1968. Sir Bobby Charlton published a moving account of the tragedy in 2007 in his autobiography, in which he said that he had never got over feeling guilty because by sheer luck he had survived when friends and team-mates had perished. 1958 Munich Air Disaster: How It Cemented a Manchester United Fan's Lifelong Commitment | The Huffington Post 1958 Munich Air Disaster: How It Cemented a Manchester United Fan's Lifelong Commitment 06/02/2013 08:24 | Updated 07 April 2013 Samuel Luckhurst Football writer, The Manchester Evening News As a nine-year-old in 1998, Catholicism was an unwanted but integral part of growing up. My family weren't (and aren't) strict Catholics but thought it traditional and prudent to set me in good stead prior to my teenage years.

Sunday mass, altar boy duties and attending a Roman Catholic primary school made the commitment an unavoidable chore and unlike Homer, I was dismissed when making a stand . It was at that age I discovered through the official Manchester United magazine the legacy of the 1958 Munich air disaster. I was vaguely aware of it - chiefly through the 93-94 United season review video which reflected on the passing of Sir Matt Busby - but despite being a walking United almanac I was not well versed in it. That swiftly changed and suddenly I was able to reel off the names Byrne, Whelan, Pegg, Colman, Bent, Jones, Taylor and Edwards. A United nut since 1995, I had been to Old Trafford twice already but the awe of the ground did not fully register until 7 February 1998, the day after the 40th anniversary. United faced Bolton Wanderers, and as that week's Match magazine indicated, the game would kick-off at the unusual time of 3.15pm to allow the club the opportunity to pay its respects to the 23 who died.

Curtains: a souvenir from the author's first trip to Old Trafford, February 1996 As the game loomed the magnitude of what happened four decades previously intensified. When Eric Cantona retired the previous summer it felt like a family member had died, but 39 years previously eight footballers of the back-to-back English champions and European Cup semi-finalists had perished in the snow. Eerily, later on in the 1997-98 season Leeds United's plane crash-landed at Stansted Airport as Captain John Hackett averted another tragedy. One of the great 'what ifs', mercifully English football was spared another disaster. On the morning of the Bolton game the media was concerned about the possibility of the away supporters ruining the minute's silence. Despicably, Leeds fans disrupted a minute's silence for Busby during their televised match with Blackburn four years earlier while Bolton fans had a penchant for chanting Munich slurs. What happened on 6 February 1958, it transpired, could also be used as a stick to beat your club with.

My birthday was the day after the Bolton game and I won the coach's £20 lucky dip on the journey up but I was quietly melancholic. The level of excitement on my two previous trips to Old Trafford surpassed meeting Mickey Mouse in Florida aged six but understanding what happened in Munich and the indelible mark it left on the fabric of the club wore heavily. The atmosphere at Old Trafford was also heavy. The usual pre-match rancour had been downgraded to quiet reflection and it wasn't because of Tony Cottee's recent winner for Leicester at the ground. My mum and dad had taken me on a tour of the stadium two years earlier - probably my first (vague) educational foray into what Munich represented - so we returned to the Munich clock, this time surrounded by emotional supporters. Inside the ground it was as sombre as it was sobering. The previous day United's players had attended a memorial service at Manchester Cathedral and a 23-year-old Gary Neville would later remark how emotional it was watching Duncan Edwards' mother light a candle for her son. On a dispassionate and professional level, it was destined to count against the starting XI.

Come the tributes, Sir Bobby Charlton was flanked by Bolton's great striker Nat Lofthouse. Even at nine I had developed a puerile hatred for Lofthouse on the basis of his goal in the '58 Cup final when he poleaxed Harry Gregg . The 'hatred' had turned to 'respect'. Charlton and Lofthouse carry wreathes to the centre circle And it was during the minute's silence that something seminal happened. Football as a religion can be a tiresome and hackneyed metaphor but I felt more of a belonging to my club in those 60 seconds than I had than to my 'belief' during dozens of mass services. It could have been so different had my mum, an Arsenal fan until my seven-year-old self became upset at her celebrating a Dennis Bergkamp winner against United (cruelty worthy of an NSPCC phone call), been more forceful. As great a club as Arsenal is, they do not stir you like United. The result was inconsequential.

United had lost two successive league games and were on the cusp of a third defeat before Andy Cole intervened with a late leveller, but the experience of 7 February 1998 was invaluable as a United supporter. It cemented a lifelong commitment. Ten years on, my dad and I attended the commemorations for the 50th anniversary as United faced Manchester City. The club had since changed for the worse thanks to the Glazers' 2005 takeover and the rampant commercialism which has infested football, yet Munich reminded the loyalists that in spite of the jester hat-wearing, camera-phone-wielding half-and-half scarf clowns a proper football club lives on. That afternoon there were echoes of the tribute to Busby in 1994 as a lone piper emerged playing 'We'll Never Die'. United's unique homage was wearing a replica of the Busby Babes' kit, which was an emotive sight for a 20-year-old let alone those who saw the Babes in person. Again there were fears the minute's silence would be disrupted by the visiting section but again it was well observed as a sea of scarves emerged to give Old Trafford's theatre a dream-like quality.

United supporters display their commemorative scarves United disastrously froze to deliver one of the most infuriating displays seen by any supporter of any age. Munich was supposed to inspire the players rather than deter them. Perhaps it is an unfair observation but after the ground grieved Busby in '94, Cantona showcased a magical eulogy. Aptly though United would go on to win their third European Cup 50 years after Munich and 40 years after the Old Man's special night at Wembley. Long since a poor Catholic, in Moscow I was reduced to prayer as John Terry stepped up and God, disapproving of a serial sinner, played his part. It turned out the chore was worth it. Munich Air Disaster Victims and Survivors of The 1958 Munich Air Disaster Victims of The 1958 Munich Air Disaster Twenty-three of the 43 passengers on board the Elizabethan charter aircraft G-ALZU 'Lord Burghley' lost their lives in the Munich Air Disaster on Thursday 6th February 1958. They included the following Manchester United players and officials: Roger Byrne: 28. Left-back and club captain.

Manchester-born he won 33 caps for England. Mark Jones: 24. Centre-half. Born in Barnsley. An England schoolboy international. Duncan Edwards: 21. Eighteen England caps. Died 15 days after the crash following an heroic fight for life. Tommy Taylor: 26. Centre-forward. Cost ï¿½29,999 from Barnsley. 19 England caps. Eddie Colman: 21. Right-half. At 5ft 7ins the smallest player in the side. Born Salford. Liam Whelan: 22. Inside-right. Four caps for Republic of Ireland and a former United captain. David Pegg: 22. Outside-left. Made United debut at 17. One England cap against Republic of Ireland. Geoff Bent: 25. Left-back. Understudy to Byrne and United's other full-back Bill Foulkes. Who Also Died Survivors of The 1958 Munich Air Disaster ï¿½ Matt Busby himself was severely injured and was twice given his last rites. In the 1960s, Busby rebuilt the Manchester United team.

The biggest success of his career came in 1968 when the team won the European Cup. He retired as manager in 1969. Awarded the CBE in 1958 and knighted following the European Cup victory in 1968. Bill Foulkes (defender) was 26. Went on to play a major part in the European Cup campaign of 1968. ï¿½ Harry Gregg (goalkeeper) was 24. He had joined them 2 months before the crash, but was immediately welcomed into the fold. He survived, and was cited for bravery for going back into the burning wreckage to rescue passengers. ï¿½ Johnny Berry (winger) was a relative veteran at 31. A very brave and fast winger who scored plenty of goals. Never played again. ï¿½ Jackie Blanchflower (defender) was 24. Understudy to Mark Jones, and a very versatile player. Never played again. ï¿½ Bobby Charlton (forward) age 20. Just breaking into the team at the time of the crash, he scored twice in Belgrade the night before.

Went on to become one of the game's greatest players and remains one of its most respected ambassadors. Lost all his hair shortly after the crash. ï¿½ Ken Morgans (winger) was 18. Fast, tricky and brimming with confidence before the crash. Kept Berry out of the side. Never recovered his form after Munich. ï¿½ Albert Scanlon (winger) was 22. A player of great potential who suffered terrible head injuries at Munich. Recovered and played well for several years, scoring 16 league goals the season after the crash. ï¿½ ï¿½ Dennis Viollet (striker) was 24. A prolific goalscorer and a great player before the crash, he went on to set a United scoring record in 1959-60 with 32 league goals. Later joined Stoke City and served them well for many years. It is said he was never quite as good after the crash, and that he was potentially one of the best strikers in the history of the game. Ray Wood (goalkeeper) was 26. Lost his place to Harry Gregg, but one of United's legendary goalkeeping heroes.

Another who suffered terrible head injuries, he rarely played again. ï¿½

Question: In which year did the Munich Air Disaster happen?
Answer: 1958